Shopping Sublime in St. Helena

Shop, Stop, Stay, and Be Satisfied

(ST. HELENA, CA) – It’s a quaint main street, lined with historic stone buildings that keep behind its hand-painted signage and discrete door fronts some of the most exclusive shopping venues you will find north of San Francisco.

There are only a handful of jewelry shops, but they showcase pieces so exquisite that the art of window shopping becomes the art of window loitering. Stop by Patina for a quick peek at their collection of tiaras, the diamond one in the window display was hand-crafted in France in the 1700’s.

If the gemstone charms are too rich for your blood, the chocolates will not be. After all, they are certified healthy (aren’t they) and only the freshest and finest will do. At Woodhouse (http://www.woodhousechocolates.com/), the candies are created on the premises and made without preservatives. Instructions are that you should consume them within seven days, but I don’t think they will last that long.

There are two shoe stores in town that elevate the art of footwear to a, well, art: Amelia Claire and Footcandy. Both are wonderful places to shop, but the local secret is to check the back room for sales and one-of-a-kind purchases (such as the designer clogs I got last year for $60 that were not part of the regular inventory).

If bouquet is important to you, Diva Perfumes offers an array of scents so wonderful and varied that you will never stop by a department store perfume counter again. I know they broke me of that practice.

You would think that it would only take an hour or so to walk the couple blocks of stores that line both sides of Main Street, but the interesting fashions, hand-tailored furs, and artful collections will keep you poking around for hours (and maybe checking your bank balance to see what else you can bring home). St. Helena has a small town spirit, but a cosmopolitan selection of enjoyments.